NWSB Picks: The weekly Vancouver Canucks three stars

Top performing Canucks March 10-17th

After a few weeks of utter dismay, the Vancouver Canucks went back to the up and down routine, showing bright spots, but ultimately letting their ugly habits prevail. In a week we all hoped would be their breakthrough to get back to elite team form, the ‘Nucks only managed two wins out of four chances.

It’s gotten beyond frustrating as fans to watch a team that should be way out in front of their division fighting to even maintain a playoff spot.

Some weeks I feel bad naming any Canucks player a star based on the team’s poor performance over the past month. But just because the club has been underachieving doesn’t mean it’s all bad. Here are the guys who played hard and have the stats to show from last week.

Third star – Henrik Sedin

I often criticize the Sedin twins for not being physical enough or for seeming to not even try out on the ice. But that’s just how they play, and as hard as it is to accept sometimes, you cannot deny how talented they are. Henrik had a strong week registering two goals and an assist.

Not mind blowing numbers, but he had that great passing presence going which helps get other guys involved in the offense. Watching Hank and Dank pass between each other is great fun because they just have this unreal chemistry that is unrivaled among NHL duos.

But when the captain and his brother spread the puck around and make other guys better, that’s when we give ourselves the best chance to win games.

Edler had been under a lot of fire from Canucks fans as of late but he’s our #1 star this week.

Second star – Jannik Hansen

It was a solid week for speedster Jannik Hansen. The Danish winger accounted for three assists and a goal during Vancouver’s hit and miss week. I love watching this guy play. Whether he scores on breakaways or not, they’re always exciting just because of how fast he gets up the ice.

One of these years Hansen is going to break out with 40 goals and finally get the rest of the league’s attention. I hope that time comes sooner than later.

First star – Alexander Edler

Alex Edler had been under a lot of fire from Canucks fans as of late due to some very obviously misplayed pucks. It’s never good to see a high paid defenseman making rookie mistakes in our own end. But Edler seemed to settle down last week, and also got himself involved offensively.

Alexander racked up three assists to accompany a goal. Again, not crazy numbers. But a solid week from a player this team needs to be solid all the time.

It would be great to see Edler build off this and round out the season on a high note at both ends of the ice.

So it was again an overall let down last week for the Vancouver Canucks. And the question continues to loom, who is to blame? Is Alain Vigneault just not motivating the guys anymore? Or is the goalie tandem simply not working out?

These are questions only time can tell, but the scary thing is that there isn’t much time left in this condensed season.

Who knows, maybe finishing in a lower playoff seed could benefit the team, as clearly winning the past two Presidents’ Trophies hasn’t paid off.

Here is the Canucks goal of the week, brought to you by Henrik Sedin via penalty shot: